Winnie Byanyima, the wife of detained Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, has raised fresh concerns over his health after he was transferred from Mulago National Referral Hospital back to Luzira Prison.
Byanyima said Besigye was taken back to prison late Friday, August 7, 2026, despite remaining in a condition that left him unable to walk or speak and dependent on relatives for basic care.
In a series of posts on X on the night of Friday, August 7, 2026, Byanyima said she had visited Besigye earlier in the day and found him still unable to walk or talk. She said his arms and hands remained weak and that family members had been assisting him with eating and other basic needs.
She questioned why he had been returned to prison before completing his rehabilitation.
Byanyima also questioned who authorised the transfer and why, according to her account, medical advice supporting continued treatment at Mulago was not followed.
“I am shocked and deeply distressed. After 7pm tonight, my partner @kizzabesigye1 was bundled up and taken back to Luzira Prison. When I left KB at 4.30pm, he still could not walk or talk. At lunch, I fed him soft food with a spoon because his arms and hands remain very weak. He cannot yet care for himself,” Byanyima wrote.
“When they came for @kizzabesigye1tonight, he was about to have his dinner. They did not even allow him to eat it. His family has been helping to feed and care for him at Mulago because he remains weak and dependent on assistance. Why the rush to return a seriously ill man to prison before he can walk, talk or feed himself?”
Byanyima questions decision
According to Byanyima, a senior prisons official had participated in a meeting with Besigye’s family and doctors from Mulago, as well as his personal physician.
She said doctors outlined a rehabilitation programme for Besigye and that the prisons official acknowledged that Luzira could not adequately support him in his current condition.
Byanyima said the official had recommended that Besigye remain at Mulago during rehabilitation and recovery.
She claimed that the situation changed after Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi visited Besigye on Friday.
“Today, after Minister Chris Baryomunsi visited, everything changed. An order came to remove @kizzabesigye1 from Mulago and return him to Luzira, against the recommendation we had heard from the prisons official and while he remains unable to care for himself,” she stated.
Minister says Besigye is recovering
The transfer came amid conflicting accounts about Besigye’s medical condition.
Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said after visiting Besigye at Mulago that the veteran opposition figure was recovering.
“I paid a visit to Dr. Kizza Besigye today morning at Mulago Hospital, where he is hospitalised. He is steadily recuperating and I wished him quick recovery,” Baryomunsi said in a statement reported by local media.
His account contrasted with statements from Byanyima and the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), which said Besigye remained in serious condition and required continued specialised care.
The disagreement has intensified questions over Besigye’s health and the conditions under which he can safely continue receiving treatment while in detention.
Besigye’s recent collapse
The controversy follows Besigye’s collapse during proceedings in his treason case at the High Court in Kampala on July 29, 2026.
He was subsequently taken to Mulago Hospital, where his condition prompted renewed concern from his family, political allies and human-rights advocates.
The court later directed the Uganda Prisons Service to provide a detailed medical report after prison authorities informed the court that Besigye was unwell and unable to attend proceedings. Justice Emmanuel Baguma directed that the report be filed ahead of further proceedings.
The development has placed Besigye’s health directly before the courts as his treason proceedings continue.
A long-running detention
Besigye, a veteran opposition politician and former presidential candidate, has been detained since November 2024 alongside his aide Obed Lutale.
The two face treason-related charges, which they deny.
Besigye’s detention has attracted sustained criticism from opposition politicians and human rights organisations, with Amnesty International previously raising concerns over his detention conditions and calling for urgent specialised medical attention when his health deteriorated.
His case has also been affected by wider legal questions surrounding the prosecution of civilians before military courts. Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled in January 2025 that the trial of civilians in military courts was unconstitutional, prompting a shift in the legal proceedings.
Fresh questions over prison medical care
The latest transfer has renewed scrutiny of the ability of Uganda’s prison system to care for detainees requiring specialised medical treatment.
The Commissioner General of Prisons, Johnson Byabashaija, recently assured legislators that inmates requiring specialised treatment unavailable within the prison system could access personal doctors and receive appropriate medical attention.
The disagreement over Besigye’s transfer therefore raises a central question: whether his current medical needs can be adequately met while he remains at Luzira.
Byanyima has demanded answers from authorities and argued that Besigye should remain where he can receive rehabilitation and assistance from his family.